“There are lots of Catholics in Mexico City, Veronica. They may not like what has been said about the church by Elijah or me, for that matter.”
“It is okay, Enoch. We know what we are doing and if you think this crowd today was big, wait till you see what happens there.”
“You know I don’t know much Spanish, or at least enough to communicate. How will they understand me? Are you going to have interpreters there for me?”
“Many speak English, Enoch, but here is what will happen; you will speak and they will understand every word you say.”
“How is that?”
She looked at me, shook her head, and then said, “Tonight, I thought you had crossed the threshold of questioning God on any matter, but you continue to do so. Enoch, God takes care of everything. You should know that by now.”
Elijah stood then looked over at John and said, “I have to go now. I have enjoyed speaking with you, John, and hope you will continue your good work here with Enoch. You know that it all gets more difficult from here. You may not want to cover us any longer.”
“I understand, Elijah, I really do, but I guess we will cross that bridge when we reach it.”
Elijah offered his hand and John shook it and then bowed. Elijah put his hand on the top of John’s head and said, “The grace of God be with you, John, and also His protection. Like us, you are about to enter the dens of lions.” He removed his hand, turned, and left.
Enoch stood with Veronica, as they also got ready to leave.
“I will see you in Mexico City, John,” Enoch said, again.
“I guess then that the interview is over?”
“Yes.”
“Godspeed, Enoch,” John said as they left.
Chapter 15
6:45 AM Friday, Jerusalem, Israel – Prime Minister David Ben Bernstein’s Office
Prime Minister David Ben Bernstein turned off the television they had been watching since around midnight Israeli time. It was turning into a very long day.
As the interview with Elijah or “Shraya,” as he was previously known, ended he turned to Yona, one of the two chief Rabbis for Israel and said, “What do you think, Yona?” Before Yona could answer, he added, “What I am asking or what I mean is if this is really Elijah, the ancient prophet, and are we to do as he says, no matter what?”
Yona was not sure how to answer the Prime Minister. He was not sure, if he should say what was in his heart or what the Prime Minister wanted to hear. His entire life of learning the scriptures and interpreting them had always centered on who would come first, the Messiah or Elijah. He always felt that Elijah would be first, paving the way for the Messiah. However, he was having difficulty understanding why Elijah was saying that Christ was the Messiah. Therefore, he decided to take a middle ground in answering David.
He said, “I think the last thing that Shraya or Elijah said was that he is coming here. We need to talk with him before we decide what to do. In the meantime, we can wait. Nothing needs to be done right now. In addition, I have no fear of reprisals from our enemies in the immediate future. The rains Enoch predicted are occupying many of our enemies at the moment and war is not at the top of their agenda.” He was usually not very politically outspoken. He paused a moment to reflect on what he had just said. David was still staring at him, waiting, so he added.
“With that in mind, if I had to say one way or the other, I would lean towards him telling us the truth about being Elijah and that we indeed need to listen to him. If he is who he says he is then I would refer you to the scriptures when he fought against Ba’al, Jezebel and their kingdom. God will not have mercy on us whatsoever if he is truly Elijah and we do not do as he tells us.”
“This is all crap, Prime Minister!” Meyer Branlin, the Director of Mossad spoke up uninvited into the conversation. “This guy has been in the desert as long as I can remember and he is a nut; always saying we are a corrupt country that has lost its way. He and this Enoch must have used technology to pull off those stunts and yet half the world believes them. Thanks to them, my – I mean, our – entire country is now on alert. I can promise you that the Arabs and the Palestinians are on our doorstep and neither the Iranians nor the Jordanians will take kindly to us even thinking about destroying the Dome. You, Prime Minister, need to immediately get on the airwaves and issue a statement that we are not going to do anything this Elijah has said we must do. Destroying the Dome would be a political mess and definitely bring the entire Muslim world down on us. We would then have a real mess defending ourselves.”
“I will take your comments under consideration, Minister Branlin,” David said with contempt.
The Prime Minister turned again to Yona after Meyer’s outburst and asked, “Yona, what he said about the locusts destroying any country’s crops if they should think about attacking us sounds like a biblical prophecy. What do you think?”
“That is the way God does things, David. Look at the other witness. He has been one hundred percent right on all his predictions thus far. I disagree with the Minister of Defense.”
Yona looked over at Meyer and said, “No disrespect, Minister, but I believe that we should not do anything against God’s wishes; for if we do, we will then be punished by God until we understand and accept His wishes. Look at what God has done to us in the past; and we all knew that when we returned to the Promised Land, we could expect God to return also. In my opinion, that is what appears to be happening. In addition, I agree with you, Meyer, for it would not surprise me if in a few hours one of these countries nearby threatens us. Moreover, if Elijah is right in his prophecy, then God himself will attack these countries. We need to wait and see if Elijah does as he says. From there we can make decisions.” As he finished speaking Yona returned his gaze to his lap.
The Prime Minister nodded his head in affirmation then said, “So, Yona, we should wait and see if Elijah is right and if he can protect Israel using God’s power?”
“That’s what I would do, David, if I had to make the choice. That is definitely what I would do.”
“Okay. Suppose for a moment he is Elijah and he is from God. What do we do then?”
“Build the Temple.”
“What about the Dome?”
“Blow it up, I guess. I am not sure, but maybe Elijah can help us with that when he comes back to Israel.”
“Bullshit!” Meyer said.
“I said earlier, Meyer, I would take your position under consideration. Right now, this is a discussion to get an idea of where we are. Now, either excuse yourself or calm down.”
“Sorry,” Meyer mumbled.
The Prime Minister asked Shlomo Mendel, Israel’s Defense Minister, “Do you have anything to add at this time?”
“Well, I can assure you that if we blow up the Mount, the entire Muslim world will come running with every bullet, stick or rock they have, towards us. I am not sure we want that or to even consider inviting that situation.”
“I agree with you,” the Prime Minister replied. “Maybe there is another solution. What, I am not sure. I suppose we wait for Elijah to talk to us and see what he has to say.”
Chapter 16
11:00 PM Thursday Kansas City, Missouri - Center City, Aafre Waldger’s Suite
Aafre looked over to Cardinal Richital and asked, “That was interesting, don’t you think, Cardinal? They are attacking your church and threatening to destroy the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. That will really get tempers rising in the Middle East and other areas heavily populated with Muslims and Catholics.”
“I am not concerned with them attacking the church. Many have tried over the past two thousand years and to no avail. I do not see it as a concern. However, I do agree that the Muslims worldwide are not going to take this lying down. That, Aafre, we can be assured of.”
“Well what about this locust plague he has threatened. Anything you can tell me about it?”
“The last time their God used the locusts was during the days of Moses
and the Pharaoh. This was one of the plagues that Moses inflicted on the Egyptians during his attempt to free them from slavery. So, in my opinion, and of course, based on what we just saw tonight and in the past few days, I would say, yes, he may well call upon his God to do this.”
“So who do you think will react first, the Arabs, Jordanians, Egypt’s new government, maybe Iran or even Syria and their counterparts ISIS that are taking over northern Iraq?”
“Most likely, Iran. They think they are invincible and will want to try Elijah’s patience.”
“Iran is quite fertile, is it not?”
“Yes, for the Middle East, it is very fertile, with a lot of green for the locusts to eat.”
“We will have to wait and see if they react or not. It is early morning there and the riots against Israel or the U.S. should be starting soon. They always do under these circumstances. Then we will see if the locusts come as their hothead President threatens Israel; for I know he will…I know he will,” Aafre said smirking.
Chapter 17
8:30 AM Friday, Tehran, Iran – Supreme Leader’s Palace
The broadcast from the United States with Elijah and Enoch had concluded. President Shasahvar turned to the Ayatollah Shahin, and said, “It appears that this Elijah wants to challenge the Arab and Muslim world. In not so many words, he has said that our beliefs are wrong. He went on to attack our fundamental belief that Mohammed the Khatim an-Nabuwwah, last in a series of prophets sent by Allah, is not the real prophet, but Jesus. Now, we do believe that Jesus will return to earth near the Day of Judgment to restore justice and to defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal ‘the false messiah’, also known as the Antichrist. This we believe in. But, that Jesus died for our sins, we cannot accept. He came, he preached to the Israelites, and was taken back to heaven. If we and our fellow Muslims do not take a stand over this blasphemy and do nothing then we will appear weak and the people will not understand.”
“Mr. President, I understand what you are saying, but I am concerned that Elijah may well be the Elijah from the Hebrew Pentateuch and the Qur’an,” the Ayatollah said. “If this is so and we threaten Israel, then he may be able to call down God’s power to have our country overcome by locusts.”
“Are you telling me that you are converting to their religion? You are the highest-ranking Muslim in the Arab world. How dare you say that their religion is right and ours is wrong?”
“That is not what I said, Mr. President. What I am saying is that there is a possibility that he can do this. That does not mean that I no longer believe in Mohammed and Allah.”
“Good, then that means you are with me, because I am going to call his bluff. I do not believe in the Hebrews or their prophets and especially Jesus Christ. I am not even sure he even existed.”
He stood and started pacing, as he usually did when ranting, “I need to get our people in the streets denouncing Israel for threatening our holy shrine through their false prophets. Then I will go on national TV and tell the Israelis that if they move one rock from the Temple Mount, all of the Arab world will be at their doorstep. This issue may well finally unify the Arab world as one and then we can put an end to the Israelis for the last time. America is too weak to help them now, so the timing is right. I will lead the Arab world against them for Allah and put an end to this insanity once and for all.”
“If we attack them,” Ayatollah Shahin said, “then Israel may well use their nuclear weapons and destroy us.”
“We have them too as you well know. The weak Westerners never were able to stop us. They did not have the guts after wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. So it would be tit for tat, as the Americans say.”
As he sat back down staring at Ayatollah Shahin, he knew that unlike past Ayatollah’s, this one had little power or guts. The real power in Iran was the office of the presidency. He could now do as he chose. Opportunity was finally in front of him to unite all Muslims and the Arabs, with himself at the forefront. He would take this to the ends of the earth, he thought. He would become Muslim’s-greatest-hero-since-Mohammed.
Chapter 18
7:00 AM Friday, Jerusalem, Israel – Prime Minister’s Office
“Prime Minister, sir?” the aide asked as he opened the door to David’s office. “I have a communication for Meyer Branlin,” as he walked in and handed it to the Prime Minister, as was protocol. David thanked him. When the clerk had gone back through the door, David handed the envelope to Meyer, who opened it and read the contents.
After a moment, he said, “It appears that Elijah or Shraya, as we had known him, is on his way back to Israel and will be landing in about 10 hours in Tel Aviv or around 5 PM tonight.”
The Prime Minister asked to see the message. Meyer handed it over to him. David read the short note. When he was through, he placed the paper on his lap, leaning back in his chair, as his thoughts turned to his earlier training as a young man. The scriptures were constantly being drilled into him as a child. He had memorized many of them. He remembered reading the sections about Elijah personally appearing before the Messiah’s coming. He knew from scripture that Elijah and Enoch were taken to heaven by God. He also knew there was no written record that either had died. The question that perplexed all religions that practiced belief in a monolithic God was that no man could ascend into heaven. This was the problem with the Bible and the Pentateuch. It was a matter of interpretation.
This past week, the Witnesses were all they had been hearing about on the news, as well as the natural events they seemed to be causing: the rain, the earthquakes, the oncoming hurricanes, and melting ice caps. Their long-time ally would probably be paralyzed for some time. Now, Elijah was stirring up the Middle East and even threatening his own country.
Had God really decided that now was the time and that he was to be the leader of the Israelis during this time, which as of Monday, was now becoming biblical? Was this when Israel would need the best leadership possible? The final countdown God had promised would come and make Jerusalem the capital of the world and the Jews would finally receive His blessing. Wars, famine, fear, and anger would eventually disappear. Was it possible that this was now true and that the Temple would be rebuilt? Maybe that meant that Elijah knew where the Ark of the Covenant really was and they could put it back in the Temple.
The Prime Minister closed his eyes and imagined the wonder of the Temple being rebuilt once more and the return of God.
He sat back up in the chair. Knowing that they had been watching him while he daydreamed he decided it was time to go. Like them, he needed to get some rest.
He then said to them, “Let’s get some rest, it is going to be a long few days coming up. We need to decide what we are going to do. Elijah will be here in ten to eleven hours or so. Shlomo and Meyer, please contact the committees of the Knesset and let them know we will be speaking to them within twenty-four to forty-eight hours about this Elijah issue. So let’s say we get back together,” David looked at his watch, “around 5:00 PM, here. Meyer, make sure the first stop for Elijah, once he steps on our soil, is here in this office.”
For the first time today, Meyer smiled and said, “Oh, but I will make sure that is what happens, David. Of that I am sure.”
“Now, if you don’t mind I would prefer to get some sleep. It has been a very long night and I think in the next few days sleep may not be an option. Let’s take advantage of a few hours rest while we can.”
At that, he stood, as did the others, and they all left the office.
Chapter 19
11:10 PM Thursday, Kansas City, Missouri - Center City, President Richard Stevenson’s Suites
President Stevenson, like everyone else in the world, was glued to the TV. He had Jamal and his wife with him, who he noticed, sat as he the wonder of the night’s events and the interview with Enoch and Elijah. Waldger had told him to bring only Jamal with him to the meeting. He said additional staff would be awkward.
He was at a loss for words. The world had changed al
most completely overnight and even as President, he could do nothing, at least for the moment. The U.S. was under siege with the earthquake in California and the oncoming hurricanes. According to all their resources, they were definitely going to occur. Years of peace talks in the Middle East that he and his predecessors had been working on for years, had been destroyed in one night by this Elijah.
To top it all off, tomorrow the meetings with Waldger would begin and he was sure that the merry-go-round was going to continue. Waldger would start to do battle with these two Witnesses immediately and anyone else who stood in the way of his plans.
Stevenson also knew that Aafre would hold him accountable for the attempted assassination on Enoch. Aafre had been very specific about this. None was to threaten or in any way hamper this Enoch. The fact that Ken Giles had had Enoch kidnapped in Israel, and his murder or assassination almost immediately thereafter concerned the President. For now, it appeared that he had been, as the saying went, ‘thrown under the bus’ by his own director by instructing the Major to kill the witness or attempt it. There would be hell to pay for that action from Waldger, for the Witnesses were hands off.
As he reclined in his chair, he thought back to when he had decided to run for the presidency. He knew that Waldger’s group had selected him. No person could or would be elected to power in the United States without Waldger’s blessing or that of any other western country for that matter. They had the money and they had the power. They owned almost all the media and people listened to their beloved newscasters and voted accordingly. All the rhetoric, promises made and the other party’s candidates were irrelevant to the elections. Even if it was not going Waldger’s way then he could manipulate the voting system.
Since most elections were now conducted using electronic systems it was easy to ensure that whoever Waldger wanted elected, was who was actually elected. The people never knew that their vote did not really count.
When he had learned that he would be the next president of the United States he had done everything he was asked. No questions from him, he had followed the script. He spoke and acted as instructed by his handlers. That was the path to the top. In his mind, he thought that in spite of their control over him, he could make a difference. He soon found out that was not to happen. The bottom line was that he was only a puppet in their control. He and other members of most Western governments were all being controlled by someone, one way or the other.